I May Fall
by The Emerald's Edge
Summary: The students of Beacon, Haven, Atlas and Shade stood ready to defend the academy and the city, but some casualties are worse than others and some you can't recover from. She didn't and she never would because it was her fault. She was the reason her teammate, her friend, her love died. A short one-shot AU where the Battle of Beacon ended with one more casualty.


_This couldn't be happening. Those words looped endlessly in her mind as she sobbed, her tears soaking her palms through her leather gloves. First the grimm, then the Atlas robots turned on them and now...this couldn't be happening._

Alarms and sirens were going off, it started with Yang Xiao Long's match against a student from Haven, Mercury Black. The way the match ended when Yang just attacked her already defeated opponent, after that it was Pyrrha's match against that girl from Atlas, Penny. Another match that ended grimly, but that one was worse, much worse. Pyrrha did something, her semblance maybe and repelled Penny's swords back to her and everyone everywhere watched as the near invisible wires that controlled the swords wrapped around Penny before tearing her apart revealing her to really be a robot. Then the mysterious voice echoed through the speakers.

This was planned, there's no way it wasn't. The timing of this woman's message was too perfect, whoever she was she planned all of this, but she was a distant thought.

Thanks to her words, she stirred up the audience at the arena and their anger, the negativity of their emotions called to the grimm. The hordes stampeded into the city catching those watching the perimeter's off guard and then the air ship appeared, piloted by members of the White Fang, who released more grimm into the city and the school. Now buildings were burning, people were screaming and they had a choice, run and save themselves or fight to defend their home and school. It wasn't even a choice.

Summoning their lockers that contained their weapons the students of Beacon, Haven, Atlas and Shade stood ready to defend the academy and the city, but some casualties are worse than others and some you can't recover from. She didn't and she never would because it was her fault. She was the reason her teammate, her friend, her love died.

They were fighting a group of Atlesian Paladins, the Atlas military's newest weapon, a large mech armed to the teeth and protecting by armor thick enough to endure even their strongest attacks and their best tactics. It was clear what they were doing wasn't working and they had to try something else, that's when she turned to her friend something she wished she could take back, something she would give anything just to have a chance to go back and stop it from happening.

"I guess now's as good a time as any" she said before looking to her teammate, "Velvet."

She watched as her faunus teammate looked at her asking with adorable excitement if she was serious.

"Just make 'em count" she told her with a smirk.

She watched as Velvet, her friend, her teammate, her love walked forward ahead of all of them finally revealing her weapon to everyone outside of their team. It was with pride she watched Velvet fight against the paladin mechs defeating them through the use of her arsenal of weapons and her semblance. So proud she was that she stopped paying attention to everything other than the rabbit faunus until she watched as a paladin managed to get a hit on her, a single surprise blow that Velvet didn't have time to defend against, depleting the remainder of her aura in a single attack.

Thankfully Weiss Schnee had somehow managed to defeat the mech while the rest of them distracted it, but it was when she turned around that she saw it. Velvet on her knees, blood pooling beneath her and her clothes stained with blood another Atlas robot standing behind her it's rifle aimed down at her. They were so focused on downing the paladin that they didn't hear the gunshot from the robot behind them.

She charged the robot, destroying it in a truly violent fashion before she dropped her weapon and ran to Velvet's side dropping to her knees and lifting her into her arms and removing her sunglasses to reveal her eyes that matched her name.

"Coco" Velvet shakily exhaled as she looked up at her team leader, "I'm sorry, I didn't see it."

"No" Coco gasped, "No, I'm sorry. I should have protected you, but you're going to be alright, we can get you patched up so just hang in there."

Velvet smiled, weakly she reached for Coco's hand bringing it to her lips kissing her knuckles, "Alright" the wounded girl replied, "I'll just rest until then."

Coco cradled Velvet in her arms, the memory of the time they met a year ago in the Emerald Forest played in her mind.

It was the day of initiation for the new first years, Coco was so busy patting the dirt from her clothes that she didn't hear the boarbatusk creeping up behind her until it was too late. The grimm had curled itself into a wheel and charged at her slamming into the student's back sending her to the ground. Coco managed to turn onto her back slamming her designer bag against the monster and kick it away, but a beowolf leapt out at her its claws raking against her aura knocking her to the ground once more. Scrambling to her feet she turned to meet the monsters only to hear a battle cry from behind her and a creep was thrown through the trees before a girl dressed in brown leapt after it intercepting it in the air with a flying kick.

"Nice move" Coco told her, "I'm Coco, welcome to the party."

The girl replied, "I'm Velvet, nice to meet you."

Coco noticed the long rabbit ears the girl had and smiled, "Well I hope you can fight as good as you look" a comment that made the girl blush.

Partners from that day they made their way to the temple in the forest to find the relics their headmaster told them about.

"Chess pieces?" Velvet wondered walking over to them and picking up a black bishop, "Are these the relics we're supposed to find?" she asked.

Coco looked around, "Well I don't see anything else, might as well take that back. You ready, partner?"

Velvet smiled at her and nodded, "Yeah, let's go."

The months passed, between classes sharing the same dorm room the two got to know each other and their other two teammates better, but as they spent more time together Coco's interest in her faunus teammate only grew. The night of the school dance a couple of weeks before the Vytal Festival. The festival was being held at Haven this year, CFVY were given a dorm to share with the visiting teams from the other academies.

"So Velvet" Coco began watching her partner try on her dress in front of the full length mirror, "Who's the lucky guy?"

Velvet frowned a little, "I, don't have a date. How about you? I know a lot of guys were asking you."

Coco nodded to the side, "They did, a couple of girls to" she smirked when she saw Velvet's surprised expression, "But, I turned them down."

"Really?" Velvet asked, "Do you not want to go?"

"I do" Coco answered, "But the person I want to go with still isn't sure they want to go."

Velvet turned back to the mirror staring at her navy blue dress with purple trims, "I see. I was too shy to ask anyone so I'm still not entirely sure if I'm going to go."

"Well I'm still going" Coco told her, "May as well check it out if we already bought our outfits, no sense letting those go to waste."

Velvet seemed hesitant, but agreed, "Well I guess we could just spend the night hanging out."

Entering the hall where the dance would be held Coco smiled as she turned to her partner, "Well looks like the person I wanted to ask showed up after all."

Velvet's ears dropped, "Oh" she replied her nervous smile completely gone, "That's ok you go have a good time I'll be fine on my own."

She saw her leader smile at her before a yelp escaped her as she felt her hand being grabbed and Coco was pulling her toward the dance floor. Coco's dress matched her name, a thin over the shoulder strap dress with black heels while still wearing her favorite necklace, beret and aviators. Taking Velvet's other hand in hers Coco wrapped her arm around the faunus' waist and smirked when she noticed the blush on her partner's face.

"C, Coco" Velvet gasped, "What are you doing?"

"What?" Coco asked, "I told you I wasn't sure if the person I wanted to ask was going to be here, and now she is."

Velvet's cheeks grew brighter when she realized, "You, you mean" she saw Coco nod, "But we're...why me?"

Coco's smirk changed becoming a normal smile, "Because I like you Velvet. I have for a long time now."

Velvet felt her body lock up when her leader leaned forward and kissed her. The blood rushing to her cheeks making her feel faint and her mind going too fast for her to form a sentence. It took a moment for everything to register, but Velvet finally moved her eyes looking away still blushing as she confessed she liked her as well.

Official from that night the two were almost always together and had never felt happier, until now.

This couldn't be happening. Those words looped endlessly in her mind as she sobbed, her tears soaking her palms through her leather gloves. First the grimm, then the Atlas robots turned on them and now...this couldn't be happening.

Velvet closed her eyes, saying she just needed to rest until they reached a medic, but as her chest fell with her next exhale it didn't rise again. Coco checked her for a pulse unable to find one. She picked Velvet up abandoning her weapon and rushing off to the evacuation site to find help, but when she got there it was too late. Between the blood loss and the trauma of the injury she never had a chance, Velvet was dead.

Unable to accept it Coco yelled, she swore and she begged and she threatened, demanding that they do something, anything, everything to help her, to save Velvet. But it was too late. In shocked disbelief only her sobs broke the silence around them as she leaned over the body of her girlfriend and cried into her chest, kissing her one last time wishing she could trade places with her, praying to any higher power that might exist to bring her back, that she would give anything to have her back.

When it was over Coco had vanished, never seen again after that day where many had lost something, but she had lost everything.


End file.
